The Intern

Breaking into magazines is not at all easy and before you can even think about clinching a cushy career as an editor many many hours as an intern must be put in. Ah the intern, a lowly underpaid and over worked wannabe journalist who has recently become the source of fascination for reality shows such as Running in Heels and The Fashionista Diaries. While I was feng shuing my home and organising my film collection a few months back I came across a film that was made back in 2000 that featured the shallow world of glossy magazines. The Intern is the story of Jocelyn Bennett played by Dominique Swain who is fresh out of college and lands a role as an intern at uber cool fashion magazine, Skirt which is based in New York. She finds herself surrounded by the most self centred, crazy and egotist people on earth and performing the most minor of duties. However there is a jewel in the crown in the shape of art director, Paul Rochester played by Ben Pullen. When a spy begins to hand over Skirt's fashion spreads and story ideas to rival Vogue, Jocelyn sets out to nail them.

The Intern is a total send up of the fashion magazine world with fantastic sub zero one liners and bitchy antics. Screenwriters Carolyn Doyle and Jill Kopelman, both former magazine interns themselves display their knowledge of the intricacies of magazine life. More excitingly, The Intern features cameos by a whole range of top notch fashionistas such as Diane von Furstenberg, Tommy Hilfiger, Elizabeth Saltzman, Kenneth Cole, Andre Leon Talley, Kevyn Aucoin and Gwyneth Paltrow. I think this film is a total undiscovered gem and I get the impression that this is what Ugly Betty would have been like if it had been released a few years earlier. The Intern and Ugly Betty both share the same humour and campiness plus neither of them take themselves too seriously. If you are fascinated by the workings of magazines then you will find this film a lot of fun to watch.

Picture taken from dominiqueswain.org.

Review: Running in Heels

I am in love! I have fallen hook, line and sink for the brand new series, Running in Heels. My past loves before that were The Fashionista Diaries and Stylista but trust me, this is the real deal. Running in Heels is a reality show that documents the lives of the staff on US Marie Claire. The show made it's debut on the Style Network last Sunday and judging by the messages on Twitter, has been a raging success. I tuned in for my fix courtesy of iTunes tonight and was completely and utterly riveted. There has been a lot of media mutterings about this new reality show because of a few reasons: firstly, it has been dubbed as the real life version of The Devil Wears Prada, secondly, the appointment of fashionista Nina Garcia as fashion director and thirdly, the comparison to Stylista which was based on US Elle. Running in Heels focuses on the journalists and editors at the glossy magazine in particular Joanna Coles who is editor-in-chief. You will be in no great shock to hear that she is a Brit who is juggling marriage and motherhood along with a hectic career that she loves. Joining the high octave staff on the publication is Project Runway's Nina Garcia who was previously at Elle. However, the real stars of the show are the interns - Ashley from Washington DC, Talita from LA (along with Chanel her Chi-whatever dog) and Samantha from Wisconsin. The trio are vying for a position at Marie Claire and are all ultra competitive and as luck would have it they are sharing a trendy apartment in Manhattan. Roll on the drama and with Chanel peeing all over the place it looks like it won't be long before the sparks fly.


The first episode kicks off with New York Fashion Week where the staff not only have to attend as many shows and parties as possible but also need to host a welcome party for Nina Garcia. This is no ordinary bash because the purpose is to raise the profile of Marie Claire and the only way to do this is by gaining media exposure and column inches. Hence the courting of many celebrities such as Heidi Klum and Lindsay Lohan who happens to be on the latest issue. Despite all the gloss, Running in Heels really depicts the complexities of producing a magazine. You are shown the anxiety of the staffers when they await Nina's arrival. We also see the politics that come into organising Nina's party; getting the goody bags right, the perfect guest list, the celebs there and going to great lengths to make sure that the right issue of the magazine is placed casually on the tables. Then there are the interns who from the word go prove to be a competitive and feisty lot. There is no holding back on the back stabbing and the bitching as they vie for that coveted spot. After the whole hype surrounding Stylista, I was not sure what to expect from this show but I was intrigued about the ambiance between the junior and senior members of staff and how this would translate to TV. The result is a resounding success and a well rounded show that is exciting to watch yet without the over zealous continuing drama. I cannot wait to see the next installment.


Across the pond UK Marie Claire is celebrating entering Spring mode by getting all happy on us. The April issue is dedicated to happiness and features a sunny Blake Lively from Gossip Girl, looking all radiant. The issue is wrapped in a large sexy package which also contains a tub of Neal's Yard Remedies face cream. So go out and buy it and grab some happiness.

The Fashionista Diaries coming to the UK

2008 looks like being a very hot year in terms of TV entertainment. Not only have ITV 2 snapped up the rights to screen the fabulous, Gossip Girl. Rumour has it that Five are to broadcast a UK version of The Fashionista Diaries. Set in New York, the slick reality show followed the lives of six twenty something fashionistas taking on traineeships in companies such as CosmoGirl, Flirt Cosmetics and Seventh House PR. Roll on the New Year!

Farewell to The Fashionista Diaries

Sob, sob, The Fashionista Diaries is over. Finished, caput, done. The show came to a fantastic climax last Friday with all the teams preparing for New York Fashion Week. There were two shows, Just Sweet, a label that is owned by Jennifer Lopez who Flirt Cosmetics were doing the make up for and the main one, Charlotte Ronson which everyone was working towards. Bridget and Laurie who are just getting tighter by the minute were in charge of the goodie bags and collecting all the props to make the place look pretty. Our Rachel had the meaty job to interview people backstage for CosmoGirl.com while Andrew was given the task of quizzing Cosmo readers about their outfits and their personal style. Sounds like a pretty interesting job to me but Andrew was not happy with that and thought that his skills could have been put to better use. Meanwhile Janjay and Tina were backstage assisting the make up artists with all their needs. Both fashions show went exceedingly well, apart from a nail biting moment when Janjay forgot to bring the face chart for uber make up make up artist Charlotte Tillbury. However, the Gods must have been smiling down on that girl because a co-worker managed to run back to the office to get hold of the face chart in the nick of time. Of course Jennifer Lopez made an appearance at the end of her show which was full of A-line dresses and skirts in floral colours. Charlotte Ronson's collection was more slim line with lots of over the knee dresses and plenty of orange, grey and whites. Seeing the show was a culmination of all the assistants work and anyone who has worked on a big project can identify how all the fashionistas felt during the show. Everyone was very happy at end and full of smiles and I am even talking about Mandie! At the end of the fashion show she even came over and hugged Bridget and Laurie and thanked them for all their efforts. Awww, she is growing on me. The quintets spent the evening grooving at the after night party where Charlotte Ronson's sister, Samantha Ronson was DJing.

Ok, judgement day, this is where the fashionistas will be finding out who will be staying and who will be going. At the CosmoGirl headquarters it was a thanks but no thanks to Andrew. It seemed that Editor, Susan Schultz had a problem with his work and mentioned his missing deadlines. He got a pat on the back and was shown the door. It was totally different story for Rachel though, she impressed Susan so much that she was offered a position as a senior writer. Needless to say she was delirious. At Flirt Cosmetics , Tina was heaped with praise upon praise by Kathleen who then turned round and questioned her commitment to Flirt. I think Tina was just as shocked as I was, from what I have seen of the young Miss over the last 10 weeks, she seems to throw herself into everything she does. Janjay's evaluation ended with tears of joy as she landed her much coveted position at Flirt Cosmetics. She almost had me crying as well.

At Seventh House PR, Laurie was praised by Mandie and Mark for all her hard work but she commented that she felt the pressure to be another Bridget. Mandie replied that she never wanted her to be another Bridget and the world can only can take one Bridget. I agree totally. Now to the madam herself, she thanked Mandie for giving her the opportunity BUT turned down a position as a PR Manager because she has always wanted a career in magazines!! Mandie was gob smacked, I don't think anyone saw that one coming. Mandie promised to help her achieve her goals. Well there we are, the end of a scintillating 10 weeks of fun, tension, fall outs, glamour and fashion. So what next for the fashionistas? I can see Andrew finally finishing his designer line, Laurie getting snapped up by a PR company, Tina definitely getting a gig in cosmetics or PR and Bridget working on the fashion section of a magazine. It looks like my hour of pleasure is no longer but thank god that I still have Gossip Girl and bring on Cashmere Mafia and Lipstick Jungle.

The Fashionista Diaries - Meet Rachel Jacoby

Well London Fashion Week is up and running and fashion is on the tip of everyone's tongue. All the magazine editors are out in full forces in their Jimmy Choos clutching a skinny latte checking out the latest trends. The whole atmosphere in the British Fashion Council tent is intoxicating. Someone who knows better than most about covering fashion events is 22 year old, Rachel Jacoby. The New York native is one of the stars of The Fashionista Diaries and is now working at CosmoGirl following the demise of Jane magazine. During our interview, she spills all to me about life on CosmoGirl, Jane and what is going down with Andrew.

I was impressed with your knowledge about Jane magazine in your first editorial meeting, would you say you are a real mag hag?
I am most definitely a mag hag. Ever since I was a little girl, I would devour the pages of any magazine that passed my way -- I even would read catalogues. After a short detour of wanting to be a civil rights attorney, I turned back to my original love of magazines and took a six week course at NYU post college graduation called the "Summer Publishing Institute". It was basically a bootcamp for magazine publishing, which confirmed my interest in working in the industry. I even took a position for a year as an advertising assistant at a different magazine in order to break into publishing.

Which magazines do you buy, apart from Jane that is?
The better question would be which magazines don't I buy! I love ELLE, Marie Claire, Vogue, New York Magazine, Glamour, W, Shape, Allure...I could go on forever. I even love to read GQ (and a few other men's magazines) because of its intelligent wit and differing perspective.

How did you find out about The Fashionista Diaries and what made you apply?
I was actually frustrated with my job as an advertising assistant at Fitness Magazine and was perusing Media Bistro for editorial opportunities. I discovered a posting to be a fashion assistant at a magazine as part of a documentary TV show. Although I was quite hesitant to put myself on national television, I persevered and figured this would be my chance to gain experience and exposure as a fledgling fashion/beauty journalist.

How upset were you when Jane folded?
I was incredibly bummed (if you couldn't tell). Although the show only
showed me as upset because I lost my "big chance", I was also quite disappointed as a reader -- Jane was my bible. I most importantly felt for the entire staff of Jane, as I had grown to know and love many of the staffers and knew how much they believed in the magazine and its editorial message.

How are things going at Cosmo Girl?
Cosmo Girl is great! The entire team is passionate about their magazine, which makes it quite an exciting place to work. They have really given me a fabulous opportunity to showcase my skills and raw desire to work in publishing.

Lets talk Andy-licious, you guys make a great team. Any romance there?
I adore Andrew -- he's a great guy. We compliment each other in the work place, but unfortunately there is no romance there. As I stated in an episode, I don't like to mix work with play!

Who are your favourite designers?
I adore a lot of designers, many of which I cannot afford as an
assistant. However, my current favorites include Marni, Catherine
Malandrino and of course the American wunderkind Marc Jacobs. But realistically, I buy a lot of my clothing either at vintage shops or at H&M -- great, affordable style.

How would you describe your dress style?
I like to switch it up, depending on where I am or what I'm doing. I love to mix boyish hippie elements such as funky vintage tees with glizty-girly pieces. In a nutshell, I'd say I'm a glam hippie/tomboy.

The Fashionista Diaries is on SOAPnet.com on Wednesday at 9pm (US time).


Picture supplied by Shepley Winings Public Relations

The Fashionista Diaries - Meet Janjay Sherman

New York Fashion Week came to a fantastic climax today with stunning shows from the preppie, Tommy Hilfiger and the toast of NYC, Donna Karan. As the fashionistas packs up their designer luggage and head to London for a week of cutting edge shows and endless parties they will have a huge precedent to follow. New York is undeniably the fashion capital of the world and if you can make it there you are home dry. No one will know this better than a group of six twenty-somethings who have just started their careers in fashion. Rachel, Andrew, Janjay, Tina, Bridget and Lauren have practically become household names with their role in the documentary, The Fashionista Diaries. Billed as part Project Runway with a dashing of The Apprentice and The Devil Wears Prada sprinkled on the top, this fly on the wall programme has caught the imagination of fashion lovers. One of the popular characters is 22 year old Janjay Sherman who has landed a gig at the ultra trendy, Flirt Cosmetics and has proved herself to be capable, talented and sassy. So what is it like working on the glamorous show? I set about to quizz her.

How did you hear about The Fashionista Diaries and what made you apply?
I was actually an intern at Zac Posen which was coming to an end and I just wanted to get a job after graduation. I came across a posting on Mediabistro.com which said they were looking for a fashion assistant which ended up being a casting call. I got a few callbacks and from there the whirlwind started.

So when you found out that the ad was for a TV show how did you feel? Were you excited, taken aback or did you think 'Hell no?"
I was actually very excited and it seemed like something that definitely match my personality. I am a very determined person and I saw it as a way of getting my foot in the door of this industry.

You project yourself very well on TV and are very composed which has not gone un-noticed by others. Are you aware of what a great role model you have turned into?
It is a blessing that I can be a role model to people. I just really want people to see what the industry is like and that you don't have to be catty or snotty. You can be yourself and stay focused and have your goal in mind. For me I try to stay true to myself and always be aware that people are watching. This industry is hard to break into and you always want to make the best impression.

Who are your favourite designers?
Oh I have so many, Zac Posen, Karl Largerfield, John Galliano, Betsy Johnson are my main ones.

How would you describe your style?
There is not one way to describe my dress style, I would say I have a very eclectic taste. One day I can be very uptown chic and the next day I will be downtown chic. Everyday is different for me and I dress according to my mood. I definitely think you can be cute on a budget and I do not try to break the bank to look stylish.

Now about your hair - author Tia Williams was raving about your hair on her blog. Is your hair real? Is it a weave or am I being cheeky? Either way it looks great so tell me your secret.
(laughs) No you are not being cheeky. I change my hair an awful lot, I actually just cut it. In the beginning of the show it was my hair and then midway of taping I decided that I didn't want shoulder length hair anymore. I wanted to be a diva, I wanted to be Beyonce, so I got some extensions and wore it very long and dramatic. Then a couple of weeks ago I decided that I wanted to go short and do the Victoria Beckham look so I went and got a bob. I love to change my hair it goes with my personality and I feel like I can be a chameleon.

You almost had a heart attack when your old (ahem) friend, Bobby came down for a photo shoot. I can't blame you he was gorgeous. Has anything happened between the two of you?
I can't give away too much because you have to tune in and watch it but Bobby and I do actually hang out. He is a real looker, a very humble guy and lots of fun to hang out with. You will have to tune and see what does happen or not happen between me and Bobby.

That day we saw another side to you, a cute flirty side. Would you say that is how you are out of work?
Throughout the show you will see different dimensions of Janjay, you will see me at work where I am very straight and focused, you see me with the other assistants when we meet up for drinks after work and you see my goofy side and then you see me the giddy girl who has a crush on this guy. One thing about this show is that it catches the essence of everyone's personality.

You and Tina have a really great relationship and her personality is very different from yours, would you say that this shows that women in fashion can get on as opposed to being at loggerheads?
The cool thing about our friendship is that we are able to find commonalities in our differences. I'm learning from her, she's learning from me, we help each other and I think we definitely want to see each other succeed. We look at each other as the dynamic duo. I really love Tina, I really do.

Where does the name Janjay originate from?
My parents are from West Africa, from Liberia and it's actually a very common name in Liberian culture. So I have met other Janjays before ironically and it means God's Grace.

The Fashionista Diaries is on SOAPnet.com on Wednesday at 9pm (US time).

Picture supplied by Shepley Winings Public Relations

The Fashionista Diaries

I have just finished watching the first episode of what I reckon will be the show of the year; The Fashionista Diaries. This fly on the show reality series is a combo of The Apprentice and Ugly Betty. Set in the Big Apple, The Fashionista Diaries follows six twentysomethings trying to make their mark in the ultra competitive world of fashion. Each one of them is placed as a lowly assistant at a prestigious company where they try to land a job. There is Andrew and Rachel who are placed at Jane magazine, a plucky publication for real women. Rachel, 22 from New York is a complete mag hag and knows Jane from back to front and has lots of enthusiasm and initiative. Her colleague Andrew, 24 from Philadelphia is a pretty boy who relishes being the only male in the group of females but unfortunately his confidence does not match his talents. Andrew seems to lack the savviness that it takes to make it in the magazine world; in their meeting with Editor-in-Chief, Brandon Holley both Rachel and Andrew are asked for their opinions on Jane. While Rachel wows Brandon with her knowledge on the brand, Andrew not only admits his ignorance about the publication but commits a faux pau by saying that his favourite mag is GQ. Not good!!

Across the city in the ditzy world of fashion PR, Nicole and Bridget have been placed at Seventh House PR a prestigious company that represents celebrities and fashion designers. Seventh House PR is also the land of the pretty as Nicole finds out very quickly when she is subjected to a public dressing down from director, Mandie Erickson for committing the crime of wearing flip flops to work. Now I would never wear flip flops to work but I really wish that Mandie had taken Nicole to one side and spoken to her about her attire instead of humiliating her like that. Now lets talk about Nicole, at 27 she is the eldest of the pack but to me she acts a lot younger. She just seems to lack so much confidence, unlike all the others she does not have a background in fashion as she was on her way to becoming a psychologist. Nothing wrong with that at all and actually very commendable, except that she keeps going on and on about it and lamenting about her lack of experience. That and the fact that she is from Queens. Sometimes you wish she'd just get over it. Her colleague, Bridget, 25 from Pittsburgh is as different from her as you can imagine, she oozes confidence bordering on arrogance. Bridget is full of catty remarks and put downs and seems to be on her way to becoming the villain of the show. Well that is unless Mandie beats her to it. Frankly, Mandie's unprofessionalism astonishes me, it was clearly not enough for her to humiliate Nicole on her first day but she also decided to badmouth her to Bridget when Nicole did a no show at the end of the programme. Shamesless!

However there are some endearing characters like Kathleen Pierce, the Vice President of Global Communications who own Flirt Cosmetics. She is talented, tough when she needs to be but very tactful when she deals with people. Kathleen's assistants are the no-nonsense Janjay and the outspoken Tina who are poles apart in personality and appearances. Janjay, 22 from Brooklyn is the quiet unassuming grafter whose determined confidence earns her the respect of her peers while Tina is a giggly 24 year old from Long Island who says it like it is. Interesting combo but one that is heading for a showdown very soon. This show is fantastic and totally compulsive viewing. I watched it online on Sunday and I already need another fix. If you are a fan of Project Runway or Project Catwalk then you will love this.

The Fashionista Diaries airs on Wednesday on Soapnet at 9pm, you can watch it online or download it from iTunes. By the way the breaking news is that Jane magazine has folded so Rachel and Andrew will be moved over to CosmoGirl and the magazine's demise will be documented. It should make very interesting viewing and as they say, 'The revolution will be accessorized.'